Columbia man sentenced to more than 12 years on federal gun, drug charges
A Columbia man with a history of gun-possession convictions who led Richland County sheriff’s deputies on a vehicle chase last year has been sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison, the South Carolina U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Friday.
Thomas Lashort Bullock, 33, was sentenced to 145 months in prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, federal prosecutors said in a statement.
Bullock, who has prior state convictions for assault and battery and burglary, and a past federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, was arrested in September 2021 after fleeing a traffic stop, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
Bullock, who had been on supervised release for a prior federal gun conviction at the time, jumped the center curb into oncoming traffic to evade deputies and was seen during the pursuit tossing a pistol out of the vehicle’s driver-side window, according to prosecutors.
After eventually coming to a stop and surrendering to officers, Bullock was found in possession of a 12-gauge shotgun, a 9mm pistol and various quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine and a mixture of cocaine and fentanyl, authorities said.
District Judge Cameron Currie sentenced Bullock to 135 months in federal prison on the gun and drug charges, and another 10 months for the violation of his supervised release. The sentences will run consecutively and will be followed by a three-year period of court-ordered supervision, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Bullock’s case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, and prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the centerpiece of the U.S. Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.
This story was originally published October 28, 2022 at 12:36 PM.